Premier League match time returns to Stamford Bridge when Liverpool play Chelsea in a second leg on Sunday 6 February.
The first leg between the two teams, on November 7 at Anfield, was won 2-0 by host Liverpool. The match marked a return to form for Torres, who scored both goals for Hodgson’s side, in the 11th and 44th minutes. The Spanish forward’s brilliance gave his beleaguered manager a chance at life at Anfield.
But the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story, as Chelsea dominated 69% of possession that day. For Chelsea, Malouda and Zhirkov missed opportunities due to poor corner kicks.
The real man of the match was Lucas, not Torres, and Kelly was another player who rose to be counted out in Glen Johnson’s absence. Carragher stood out as a central defender and seems to have filled the boots of Alonso and Mascherano. Hodgson’s 4-4-2 formation against a strong Chelsea midfield looked suicidal, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Lucas dominated the game. While he was excellent at tackling, he showed a lot of adventure and accuracy in his passing. Meireles was another player who had a great day in the Liverpool office; he is turning out to be a better replacement for Xabi Alonso than Aquilani.
Defensive errors cost Chelsea the game as Torres exploited the space between Terry and Cole to score. That said, the Blues dominated the second half, in which Liverpool appeared without vision or passing ability.
Head to head, Chelsea lead 9-5 in the last 16 league games between the sides.
In their last 10 league games this season, Ancelotti’s side have won 4, lost 2 and drawn the remaining 4. Liverpool have won 5 of their last 10 games, losing 4 and drawing one. Chelsea have won 8 of 11 home games this season, drawing 2 and losing the remaining. Liverpool have lost 8 of 12 away games and have won and drawn 2 each. Both teams come from victories on matchday 25; Chelsea won 4-2 away to Sunderland, while Liverpool beat Stoke 2-0 at home.
As it stands, Saturday’s game is likely to be a close one, with Chelsea enjoying home advantage.
Chelsea featured the following men in their starting eleven against Sunderland: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mikel, Essien, Anelka, Drogba and Kalou. Malouda, Ramires and Ferreira played as substitutes.
Liverpool’s starting eleven against Stoke consisted of Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Agger Kyrgiakos, Johnson, Gerrard, Lucas, Aurelio, Meireles and Kuyt. Shelvey and Suárez were used as substitutes.